Max E. Porter of Naples, FL died March 8, 2018 at the age of 90. Born in Bloomington, IN, he was the son of Boyd and Clara Maude (Heaton) Porter. A brilliant student and born leader, he entered Indiana University at the age of 16. In 1945, his college was interrupted when he enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served until August 1946. After service to his country, he returned to college and graduated with a B.S. in Business from Indiana University. In 1949, Max began a long career with Standard Oil (Indiana) in South Bend, IN. He spent his entire working career with Standard Oil which was later consolidated with Amoco Oil Co., serving in various marketing positions. Max was a very disciplined man and was known for his honesty and personal responsibility throughout his life. He was transferred to Baltimore in 1967 where he later met and married his wife, Nancy. He spent the last 12 years with Amoco Oil Co. as Manager of Capital Investment for the Eastern half of the United States, retiring after 39 years. He was well respected and known for his integrity and loyalty and knowledge of Marketing and Capital Investment in the oil industry.
The last two years of his career with Amoco were spent in Chicago. December 1987, he and his wife, Nancy, moved from Chicago to Naples and built a home at Imperial Golf Estates where they lived for 10 years. In 1999, they moved to Pelican Bay. Max served on the Board of Directors at both Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, MD and Imperial Golf Club in Naples. He was an avid golfer, winning numerous country club golf awards throughout the years and was privileged to have played over 60 of the top 100 golf courses in the world. He held a single digit handicap for many years. Max had the privilege of representing the United States in a "People to People" golf trip in Ireland, England, Scotland and Denmark. In 1992 he founded an annual Amoco Golf Invitational. In 1993, he founded "The Porter Cup," an annual golf event, by invitation only, at Imperial Golf Club fashioned after the Ryder Cup/President's Cup. When he was 75 years old, he had his one and only 'hole in one.' A year later, he shot his age "less one" at Imperial Golf Club. Golf was his passion! Max pared the course of life!
Max served his Lord, his family, his friends and his country. He was a trained Stephen Minister. For over 20 years, he served as a volunteer with the Meals on Wheels program in Naples. He loved attending the Pops and Classical concerts at The Phil, and especially loved attending the Side-by-Side concerts featuring the Collier County music students. He was a generous and faithful supporter of the arts. He believed strongly in supporting his church and his community. Following his sister's death, he established a perpetual scholarship in her honor at Indiana University School of Nursing (the Betty Porter Anderson Scholarship).
Max is survived by the "love of his life," his devoted wife of 45 years, Nancy Porter; and his beloved children, Steve Porter (Debbie) of Midlothian, VA, Debi Cross (Tom) of Millsboro, DE, Nancy Tuttle (Tom) of Ocean City, MD, and Scott Porter of New York. He is also survived by his beloved step-son, Douglas Taylor (Chris) of Bel Air, MD; eight grandchildren, Nicole Sampson (Walter), Rachel Tuttle, Kristen Allwein (Steve), Tommy Cross, Lucas Porter, Nicholas Porter, Colin Taylor (Jen) and Abbey Taylor Alford (Jake); and 5 great-grandchildren, Benjamin and Jefferson Allwein, twin great-grandchildren, Hannah and Ethan Sampson, and Cambria Taylor.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Betty Porter Anderson of Marion, IN. The Porter family is sincerely grateful to all of Max's many friends who shared in his life journey. He loved you and enjoyed being part of your life. For over 12 years, Max and Nancy enjoyed the companionship of their devoted dogs, Fritz and Mozart.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, March 16th at 10:00 a.m. in the chapel of North Naples United Methodist Church, 6000 Goodlette Road North, Naples. There will be a private burial with military honors at Woodlawn Cemetery in Baltimore, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Max's name can be made to Vanderbilt Beach Public Library, 788 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples, FL 34108.